This Is Only the Beginning

The Making of a New Left, from Anti-Austerity to the Fall of Corbyn

De: Michael Chessum

Narrado por: Joe Jameson

Duración: 10 h y 29 m

Resumen del Editor

The 2010s were a decade of foodbanks, riots, and the rebirth of political alternatives. Looking to escape a future of rising debt, falling living standards and climate meltdown, a set of movements were born across the globe, led by students, workers and the tent cities of Occupy.

A new wave of optimistic, radical young people were building mass movements outside the political bubble, rejecting the neo-liberal consensus and the enrichment of the 1%, and laying the foundations of a new left. Eight years later, Bernie Sanders was favorite to clinch the Democratic Party nomination, and Jeremy Corbyn and Momentum had taken over the Labour Party in Britain, promising ‘a new kind of politics’.

But as the new left poured into Labour, it was overwhelmed by older, institutional forces on both left and right. Four years after Corbyn became leader, after bitter-infighting and a Brexit-fuelled strategic crisis, it all fell apart.

This is the inside story of how the left came back to life in the 2010s, from a man who found himself at the centre of events - featuring unparalleled access and a range of interviews with key left-wing figures. Influential journalist and activist Michael Chessum explains how this movement was built, why it failed, and what it needs to do now.

©2022 Michael Chessum (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Reseñas de la Crítica

"[Chessum] writes passionately and eloquently. Here he examines how the emergence of Corbynism and its mass mobilisation came about and what we can learn from its rise and demise taking us on a roller-coaster ride through the history of rebellion and opposition during recent decades, both in Britain and abroad, capturing the excitement, the passion and the disappointments.... There is too much useful information and too many perceptive insights in this book to detail here. Read it yourself; I highly recommend it." (John Green)

"A member of Momentum’s first steering committee and general figure in the rooms where it happened, Chessum is an able guide through the tumultuous period covered by the book." (Morgan Jones)